Decision to ban Awami League ‘suicidal’: Senior journalist Anis Alamgir

BD Digest Report

Senior journalist Anis Alamgir has termed the Awami League’s decision to ban political activities as ‘suicidal’ and ‘misleading’. He believes that instead of banning any political party through an executive order, their fate should have been left in the hands of the people through voting.

Anis Alamgir made these remarks while participating in the talk show ‘Road to Democracy’ on private television channel RTV.

Anis Alamgir said that when BNP was in the process of coming to power and was expecting the support of Awami League voters, they did not talk about banning the party. He cited an interview with BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and said, “Tareque Rahman himself told Time magazine that he is not in favor of banning any political party by executive order. Because, if one party is banned today, there is no guarantee that another party will not be banned tomorrow.”

Quoting former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s statement, he said that after August 5, Begum Zia herself spoke about the politics of harmony and love instead of the politics of revenge. Even Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said at various times that the people will decide whether a party will be banned or not.

Referring to the historical background and public support of the Awami League, the journalist said, “The Awami League is a political party associated with the war of independence. They have several crores of supporters across the country and about 30 percent of confirmed voters. Even though the party currently has no leadership or government, this huge public support cannot be ignored.”

He further said that in democracy, the reflection of public opinion is the ultimate. Citing the example of Nepal, he said that just as the people there rejected the fallen government through elections, the Awami League should have had the same opportunity in Bangladesh. He expressed concern that such a decision in an executive order could be against democratic norms.

At the event, he raised the question, ‘Isn’t the current decision contradictory to the message of coexistence that was given by the BNP before the election?’ Anis Alamgir believes that choosing the path of banning instead of confronting it politically can have negative effects in the long run.